


Sick Days

by SakuraBlossomStorm



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: Children, F/M, Fatherhood, Fluff, Illness, Triplets, drabble-fic, sick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-10
Updated: 2016-09-10
Packaged: 2018-08-14 05:54:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8000995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SakuraBlossomStorm/pseuds/SakuraBlossomStorm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ben is not having a good day, on top of having a horrendous cold he's also got to look after a poorly triplet too. Ben and Sonia cuteness ensues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sick Days

**Author's Note:**

> Ok so it was Supervanillabear31's birthday yesterday! (The big 2-1!) So in honour of that (and also to honour the fact that she is the Queen of writing Sick Ben fics!) I've written a Sick Ben fic of her own to enjoy!
> 
> It also helps that I'm currently sick with Tonsillitis (and hungover but that's besides the point) Enjoy!

Ben hated getting sick. It was a massive inconvenience for him, especially now he was a Congressman. Members of the United States House of Representatives were not meant to get sick. 

He always found that his immune system failed him, sometimes you could just say the word ‘sick’ and a few hours later Ben would be sneezing and spluttering everywhere, this time around he had picked up a cold that had been making the rounds.

It started two nights ago, he woke up and felt like someone had slipped razor blades down his throat while he slept, he went to work regardless and spent the entire day drinking boiling hot coffee to try and soothe it. This morning his throat hadn’t been much better and had teamed up with a raw, chesty cough and a blocked nose. Leslie had insisted that he stayed home to get better and she would take the triplets to and from school.

He was the first to get it in the family and wanted to keep it that way, there was no way he wanted Leslie or the kids to feel like this, he felt like crap and didn’t want to be the one held responsible should they all fall sick.

It was 11:30 in the morning and he was sat on the sofa wearing a pair of red plaid pyjama bottoms and a warm woollen jumper that usually made an appearance at Christmastime, being February it was incredibly unseasonable, but it was snug and Ben didn’t care, he wouldn’t be leaving the house today.

Ben flicked through his Gryzzl tablet, trying to find something to occupy himself from the pressure building up in his nose, it was times like this when he really missed the days when his nose wasn’t blocked up and he took for granted the days when he could actually breathe through his nostrils and being able to smell.

His phone started to ring and caller ID flashed up announcing that it was the triplets’ school calling him, Ben frowned and grabbed his phone, the school never usually called unless it was an emergency.

“Mr Wyatt? It’s Isabelle Flowers, are you free to talk?” Ben heard the cheery voice down the phone, Miss Flowers was the triplets first grade teacher, she always wore long flowing skirts and her long dark hair always tucked behind her ears, a very fitting name he had always thought for someone teaching their children in their first year at proper school.

“Of course” Ben replied, noticing at how thick and nasally his voice sounded, “Is everything ok?”

“I’ve got Sonia with me, she’s not feeling so good and wants to come home, she’s been quiet all day and is running a temperature, it looks to me like a cold, would somebody be able to come pick her up?” Miss Flower said down the phone, by the sound of her tone it wasn’t something life threatening.

“Oh yeah I’ll come get her, tell her I’ll be there in ten minutes and to hang on” Ben said as he hung up, immediately cursing himself for getting his little girl sick.

Miss Flowers would probably think he was an awful parent if he turned up looking the way he did, he reeked of illness and looked like he needed at least two weeks of sleep. He went into the bedroom and pulled on a pair of slacks and a plain white buttoned up shirt, over that he threw a navy sweater over the top, there was no way he was going outside without a good couple of extra layers on him.

Ben grabbed his phone and text Leslie, telling her not to be alarmed when there would be one less triplet to pick up later and that he’d take care of Sonia. He just hoped that his daughter would be able to forgive him, considering he was the one who got her sick.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After a good fifteen minutes, five of those being used to warm the car up as Ben couldn’t stop shivering as soon as he got in, he arrived at the school, he grabbed some tissues from the glover compartment and blew his nose several times, trying to rid himself of some of the horrible snot that drowned him and he stumbled out of the car, wrapping a coat and a scarf around him before ascending the stairs towards the building.

Miss Flowers led Sonia out of the classroom, she was looking very sorry for herself. Ben had passed the playground on his way to find her and saw all the other kids, including Stephen and Wesley, running around and playing with one another, Ben felt guilty, Sonia should be doing that instead of being cooped up inside feeling miserable.

“Stephen and Wesley are both fine” Miss Flowers said reassuringly as she passed Ben Sonia’s schoolbag and lunchbox, “I’m sure Sonia will be feeling right as rain in a few days”.

Ben nodded, “Thanks for taking care of her today” He bent down to the little girl’s level, “Shall we get you home?” He asked Sonia.

Sonia silently wrapped her arms around Ben’s neck and he scooped her up, resting her on his hip. Ben’s current physical state made this tiny little girl plus her schoolbag and lunchbox feel suddenly very heavy, he hated this.

He thanked Miss Flowers again and carried Sonia back out to the car, he placed her into the back seat of the car and felt her forehead, she was burning up and could barely hold her head up.

“I’m sorry you don’t feel so good, Honey” Ben said soothingly as he kissed her blonde head.

Sonia didn’t say anything, she just nuzzled her face into Ben’s chest, Ben sighed and pulled her into a hug, Ben felt extremely guilty, he had tried so hard to keep the kids from getting sick and his only daughter was so weak she didn’t want to talk.

Maybe she had inherited Ben’s crappy immune system.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Daddy?” Ben heard a quiet voice coming from the triplets’ bedroom, Ben had been dozing on the sofa when he heard Sonia’s cry, he untangled himself from the blanket he had used to cover himself and hurried upstairs to attend to his daughter.

He had put her straight to bed as soon as they got in; Sonia was so exhausted she fell asleep without complaint that it wasn’t her bedtime. She had been out for an hour or so, leaving Ben to get some shuteye too.

“Hey Sweetie” Ben cooed softly as he walked in and sat on the edge of her bed, Sonia was sat up her eyes watery and her nose red. Ben just wanted to cuddle her and beg her forgiveness for making her sick.

“My tummy’s rumbling” Sonia moaned, her voice thick and hoarse, Ben suddenly remembered he had put her to bed without any lunch, god he was just the worst father today.

“Oh Honey, I’m sorry” Ben said quickly, “Daddy’s not feeling too good today either and I forgot to give you something to eat, what do you want?”

Sonia gave a defeated shrug, “I don’t know, my throat hurts”.

Ben rubbed her tiny hand sympathetically, “How about chicken soup? That’s nice and warm and easy to eat, I can put carrots in it?”

For the first time that day Ben saw some of sign of life return to Sonia’s eyes, carrots were her favourite thing to eat, thank god she didn’t inherit Leslie’s hate of vegetables, if she had that mixed with Ben’s crap immune system that would just be a recipe for disaster.

“Ok, you go back to sleep and I’ll make you some” Ben said getting up and making his way out of the room.

“I wanna help too” Ben heard behind him, and Sonia had yanked the blankets back and leapt out of bed. 

“Ok fine” Ben said as he lifted her up, Sonia immediately wrapping her arms around his neck, “But you need to go back to bed afterwards ok?”

Sonia nodded into his neck and Ben carried her downstairs and into the kitchen.

It was quite handy having a little cooking assistant; Sonia sat on a seat by the kitchen island, clad in her ‘Frozen’ pyjamas. She passed Ben the utensils he needed and even let Sonia chop some of the carrots (with his careful assistance) Soon the chicken soup was bubbling nicely, Ben lifted Sonia up so she could see the nourishing soup cooking away.

“Does that look good?” He asked. Sonia nodded and then promptly sneezed into the pot.

Ben wrinkled his nose, so this batch of soup would be reserved for himself and Sonia.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After lunch had been served and eaten, Ben took Leslie over to the sofa and put Finding Nemo on the TV for her to watch, it didn’t take long for Sonia to have dozed off, her blonde hair covering her face and his tiny head leaning on Ben’s side.

He smiled softly at her and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer to him, he then pulled a blanket around her to keep her warm and covered himself too, the sickly duo were soon fast asleep, Finding Nemo had been completely forgotten about.

Ben woke about an hour or so later with his throat searing in pain, he shifted slightly and then remembered Sonia next to him, still asleep, he grunted to himself as he eased her onto his lap and carried her upstairs back into her own bed. 

As he walked back down the stairs he heard the front door open and two child sized blurs shot in, closely followed by Leslie who was carrying several schoolbags.

“Hey” She greeted, “How are you both feeling?”

“Ok” Ben said, “Sonia’s upstairs asleep, I’ve given her plenty of medicine and chicken soup so she’ll be ok”.

“Where’s Sicky Sonia?” Stephen mocked and Wesley guffawed behind him. 

“Be nice to your sister” Leslie warned, “She’s not feeling so good, and she’s asleep upstairs so you can play with your toys in the lounge”.

The two boys shot off excitedly, leaving Ben and Leslie alone; she placed the boys’ school stuff down on the floor and wrapped his arms around her husband. 

“I think you should go upstairs too” She said kindly to him, feeling his forehead, “You’re burning up”.

“You’re burning up” Ben mocked back and then smiled, making Leslie giggle softly, “Ok fine” He said as he walked back upstairs, “Oh, by the way, don’t touch the chicken soup in the kitchen, Sonia sneezed on it”.

“Ew” Leslie scowled, “Good to know”.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leslie spent the evening with the kids and put them to bed at the regular time, not before waking Sonia up for some cuddles and to give her one last dose of medicine before bed. 

She walked into their bedroom to see Ben watching TV, Leslie crawled in next to him, “Ok, now it’s time for you to take some medicine” She said pouring him a spoonful.

Ben grimaced as he swallowed the sticky liquid, “Tastes like garbage” He groaned.

“I know, but it will make you feel better”.

Leslie rested her head on Ben’s shoulder, “Sonia said she had the best sick day with you, and she wanted me to give you this”.

She leant over and grabbed a drawing that she had brought in with her, it was a picture of what Ben assumed to be him and Sonia, both lying in a bed with thermometers sticking out of their mouths, above this, written very carelessly was ‘Sonia and Daddy’s day off sick’.

Ben’s eyes suddenly felt warm with tears, this was adorable and apparently Sonia hadn’t bee asleep all day as he had thought. But he couldn’t be annoyed when she had made the effort to make this cute drawing.

“I love this” Ben said, sniffing and then grabbing a tissue from the side.

“I know you feel guilty about Sonia getting sick but it’s going to be inevitable, we all see so many people every day and we’re just bound to get sick, all we can do is just make sure we’ve got plenty of medicine and always be ready for lots of cuddle”.

“And make sure that all of us are eating enough fruit and vegetables” Ben said, raising his eyebrows at Leslie.

“Ok, that’s not fair, I barely get sick!” As if right on cue, Leslie then proceeded to sneeze five times in a row.

Ben sighed and grabbed another tissue from the side of the bed while Leslie angrily cried out “Damn you, Wyatt!”

**Author's Note:**

> Come follow me on tumblr: @sakurablossomstorm-blog


End file.
